Signal receivers often filter and down-sample high-speed data streams from radio frequency (RF) front-ends to a lower data rate for processing that includes correlation and detection. Due to cost, complexity, and resource constraints, conventional receivers perform this function in a manner that is far from optimal, often using simple summation and averaging as an anti-aliasing filter prior to sample rate compression. Although this approach is relatively easy to implement, it results in a significant reduction in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (approximately 0.6 dB reduction) relative to an ideal filter. An alternative is to use a more sophisticated filter at the input sample rate to achieve lower loss. Unfortunately, the use of a high data rate filter requires a considerable amount of processing power and time.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a system to efficiently downsample a signal while also providing greater sensitivity.